The Haunted Star was not too far from the docks, but it was far enough. Far enough, but well-lit. Helena and Victor stood outside one of the staterooms, waiting for the new addition to their vampire family to awaken.
"Tell me again why we did not have the boy buried?" Victor questioned, nursing a glass of o positive.
"Because we are royalty and royals do not dig ourselves out of graves! No. A nice, well-lined, coffin will suffice. No need for the peasant treatment," Helena explained her reasoning. "I just hate it that the slayer got away. What a tasty gift she would have been for my great-grandson. A slayer for his first real kill."
Victor made a face and shook his head. "The boy may be soulless, my dear but you know as well as I do that the love will still be there. Killing the girl will not be a part of his plans. Mark my words."
"We shall see about that," Helena smirked, placing a hand on the door to the room. "Come. He shall be awakening at any moment. In fact...you should go fetch the woman. He is going to be ravenous."
"I've already sent for her my dear. There was no way that I was going to miss my great nephew's awakening," Victor coldly replied, enjoying the annoyed glint in Helena's eyes.
The pair entered a room that was dimly lit and decked out in red and black. In a black coffin laid Spencer, who by all appearances seemed to be dead. He was ghostly pale and his arms were folded against his chest. There was no sign of movement at all.
"It's nearing twilight. He should be waking up by now," Helena impatiently looked at the clock on the wall.
"Patience, my dear. He will wake when he is ready and then we can make Port Charles bleed," Victor rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Where is Nikolas? He should be here to greet his son."
"He took one of the boats back to Wyndemere. He said something about not wanting to witness what his son has become. Honestly, Stavros would be so disappointed in that boy. Well, at least we have high hopes for his son," Helena smirked, and then her eyes widened as Spencer's hands twitched and his eyes began to move behind the closed lids. Two minutes later, they opened and stared up at the ceiling. His mouth turned down into a frown and then his head turned to look directly at Helena and Victor.
"Where am I?" Spencer asked, his voice scratchy from disuse. His frown deepened even more as his memory began returning. "What did you do to Trina?"
"Told you so," Victor whispered to Helena who just gave him a scowl before turning her attention to her newly awakened great-grandson.
"The girl is gone. That Dex Heller took off with her. She has escaped our clutches, unfortunately," Helena explained.
"I thought you had killed me," Spencer returned his gaze to the ceiling.
Victor and Helena both laughed.
"Oh no, my boy! No, your destiny is far greater than death! You my dear boy is now a master vampire and the leader of us Cassadines! You are to lead our family back into greatness and reclaim our empire!" Helena maniacally grinned, her voice dripping with excitement. "We would have already been there if your father hadn't been such a failure and your grandfather so obsessed with that witch."
Spencer frowned and sat up, looking around, taking in his surroundings. Everything seemed so much more...intense than they had been as a human. The light was brighter. The colors of the room were deeper, the noises louder...and the hunger overwhelming!
"I'm starving!" Spencer sat up as Victor and Helena both opened up the bottom part of the coffin so the newly awakened vampire could get to his feet.
"Not to worry. We have your first meal on the way!" Helena explained and glared at Victor. "Where is she?"
"Sounds of a struggle could be heard from outside of the room. The three vampires watched as a woman that Spencer recognized as Gladys Corbin was dragged into the room, struggling and stammering to be released.
"My cousin Sonny will hear about this! He will not appreciate this at all! Oh and Selina Wu! I am her favorite customer! She will not stand for me being treated like this, whoever you are!" Gladys ranted. Her eyes widened in recognition when she spotted Spencer.
"Oh, Spencer! Spencer, it's your cousin Gladys! Thank god you're here! I am sure that we can escape and find your cousin Sonny and he can take care of these goons here!"
"Gladys Corbin. Not a good woman at all," Helena approached the woman, looking her up and down with cold eyes. "I hear that she had caused her daughter-in-law to be locked up Fern Cliff. To be drugged and tortured all because she wanted the girl's money."
Spencer frowned, feeling his hunger grow as he heard the woman's heartbeat and the sound of her blood rushing through her veins, and the scent of her fear, making his hunger even greater. "She did that to Sasha? I liked Sasha. She was nice to me."
"That's right. She took Sasha's peace of mind and sanity from her. Now it's time for the favor to be returned, don't you think?" Helena stepped aside.
"What? What do you mean by that?" Gladys stared. "What is it that you want? Money? I have plenty of that or we can talk to Selina Wu and…"
"Shut up!" Victor demanded. To Spencer's amazement, all words left Gladys.
"How did you do that?" Spencer questioned.
Victor grinned. "I'll teach you how my boy. But first, you must eat,"
Victor took the trembling Gladys away from the minions and then pushed her into Spencer's arms. "Let your hunger take over. The demon will know what to do."
Spencer looked at the trembling woman in his arms and his mouth watered as his face changed into the mask of the vampire. With a growl, he plunged his fangs into Gladys's throat and drank deeply. His demon moaned at the delicious, rich taste of Gladys's blood as he drank and drank until the woman's body grew still and the sound of her heart grew quiet. Once it was clear that the body was drained, he dropped Gladys to the floor and glared at Victor and Helena.
"More! I want more!" Spencer demanded.
"Bring in the Coe woman!" Helena demanded. "She's not a real slayer, but she'll do in this case."
Victor just chuckled as two more minions dragged in Lucy Coe.
"Let me go! I faced Caleb, I can face you too! Let me go!" Lucy demanded, struggling in the minion's grip.
"Caleb? That simpleton? He was nothing compared to us," Helena grinned, her eyes gleeful and cruel. "Just like you're nothing compared to a real slayer. You're not even worth our time, much less food. But my grandson is hungry…"
"Helena, stop conversing! The boy needs to eat before we discuss our future plans!" Victor demanded.
Helena grabbed the sputtering Lucy from the minions and pushed her into Spencer's arms. "Eat well, my boy!"
Spencer didn't waste time as he again plunged his fangs into Lucy and drank deep until there was nothing left. Sated, he allowed Lucy's lifeless body to drop to the floor, then he glared at Victor and Helena, his face changing back to human.
"That's better. Now what? Do I go see father?"
"No. We make plans. First thing first, we need to deal with the slayer. Plan out how to make her your first real kill," Helena rubbed her hands together, her eyes gleeful with anticipation, but the anticipation faded as she heard a roar and found herself pressed up against the wall with Spencer's hands around her throat and angry yellow eyes glaring into hers.
"No, Grandmother. You will not touch a hair on Trina's head, do I make myself clear? She is not for food!"
"Spencer, my boy. The girl is a slayer. It's the natural scheme of things. Vampires and slayers are natural enemies. We always try to kill each other," Victor tried to explain, not caring if Spencer actually killed Helena, but worried what the boy would do if that was allowed to happen.
Spencer turned his glare onto his great Uncle. "No matter what the two of you have been unable to take over Port Charles, much less the world. You have no vision! None at all!"
"What do you mean by that?" Victor frowned.
"My Trina. She is not food. Yes, she is a slayer. A very powerful, talented slayer. You should see her fight. Poetry in motion...just think of how powerful...how much more beautiful she'd be turned. A master vampire like me. My queen...a slayer turned vampire! My mate! We'd not only rule this town! We'll take over the world! We'd be unstoppable! Just think of it, Uncle Victor. She'll be the strongest of us. The power of the slayer and the power of the master vampire, all in one perfect package...and her loyalty will be to me. She'll be all mine!
"What are you saying?" Helena asked, her voice strained by Spencer's tight grip.
"My goal is not to kill Trina. Not at all. She's far too perfect, far too lovely, so full of delicious potential for that. No, my girl...she's not made for food. She's made to be a queen. My queen. I'm going to make her one of us and then we'll rule this town. With Trina by my side...we'll raise the Cassadines back up to where we belong!"
Victor's smile was wide with anticipation. He had to say, he liked the boy's vision. It indeed was more than both he and Helena hoped for.
"But she's a commoner," Helena croaked and then choked as the grip on her throat tightened.
"There is nothing common about Trina! Look at her! All that grace...that beauty...she's a fucking Amazon warrior and she's all mine! Do I make myself clear? Or must I really kill you, grandmother, because I will. Nothing is going to stand in the way of my vision. Not even you. Trina will be my queen. One way, or another."
With that said, and without effort, Spencer tossed Helena to the other side of the room, where she crashed into the stand that held his coffin. Without another word, he strolled out of the room, leaving Victor and Helena to look at each other, realizing that they had no idea what they were in for.